8 People Killed In Shooting At Indianapolis FedEx Facility
At least 45 mass shootings have occurred in the U.S. in the last month.
A gunman shot and killed eight people and injured seven others at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis on Thursday night, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD). Five of those injured were transported to the hospital for treatment, and two were treated by medics on the scene, IMPD said.
Police said Friday that the alleged shooter, who law enforcement identified as a 19-year-old man, died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound shortly before officers arrived.
The alleged gunman was a former employee of the facility, a FedEx spokesperson confirmed to the New York Times. All eight deceased victims were employees of the facility, said FedEx CEO Frederick W. Smith.
IMPD said it has not yet identified a potential motive, as the investigation is ongoing. The FBI is assisting with the investigation. Police said they are now conducting interviews with witnesses and searching the suspect’s home.
IMPD Deputy Chief Craig McCartt said officers responding to a report of shots fired at the facility arrived shortly after 11 p.m. at a “very chaotic and active crime scene.” Based on preliminary witness accounts police have collected as of Friday morning, Deputy Chief McCartt said the suspect drove to the FedEx facility, exited his car, and “pretty quickly started some random shooting” in the parking lot.
“There was no confrontation with anyone that was there. There was no disturbance, there was no argument. He just appeared to randomly start shooting,” Deputy Chief McCartt said. “He did go into the facility for a brief period of time before taking his own life.”
A family reunification center was set up at a nearby Holiday Inn Express, IMPD said. But FedEx employees did not have their cellphones per company policy, which Deputy Chief McCartt said led to some “frustration” because they couldn’t easily contact their families. FedEx is reportedly reconsidering its policy of barring employees from using their cellphones during work hours in the wake of the shooting.
“When you see notifications on your phone, but you’re not getting a text back from your kid and you’re not getting information and you still don’t know where they are … what are you supposed to do?” said Mindy Carson, whose daughter Jessica works at the facility, to the Associated Press.
The Indianapolis shooting marks at least the 45th mass shooting in the U.S. since eight people were killed in shootings at Atlanta-area spas on March 16, according to the Gun Violence Archive. A mass shooting is an incident in which four or more people are injured or killed in a public place.
“What we are left with this morning is grief,” Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett (D) said at the top of the news conference. “Grief for the families of those killed. Grief for the employees who have lost their coworkers and grief for the many Americans struggling to understand how tragedies like this continue to occur again and again.”
To honor the victims of the Indianapolis shooting, President Joe Biden ordered that the U.S. flag be flown at half-staff at the White House and at all other public grounds, including embassies, military facilities, and naval vessels & stations, until sunset on April 20.
“Last night and into the morning in Indianapolis, yet again families had to wait to hear word about the fate of their loved ones,” President Biden said in a statement. “What a cruel wait and fate that has become too normal and happens every day somewhere in our nation. Gun violence is an epidemic in America. But we should not accept it. We must act.”